10. Search engine math -- the easier way

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Now, if you find Boolean operators too intimidating, there is an easier way. This is called simplified search syntax, pseudo-Boolean searching, implied Boolean or (according to Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch) "search engine math".

It goes like this:

Put a plus sign in front of words that must be present on the webpage. A minus sign in front of a word will tell the search engine to subtract pages that contain that particular word. Hence + equals the Boolean search term AND, and - the term AND NOT.

In most search engines you can combine the pluses and the minuses with quotation marks, as explained above. However, you cannot use brackets or the OR-operator.

Here is one example:

This means that the pages the search engine shows you must include the phrase pan pizza, they must not include the word olives, and they should preferably include the word pepperoni.

If there is no sign in front of a word, most search engines will nevertheless read a + sign. The engine reckons that the word should be present . In other words: it will default to AND if it finds no "mathematical signs".

The use of the minus sign may have some unforeseen consequences. Imagine that you are looking for webpages that contain information about the Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace. You would like to avoid pages on earlier movies in order to reduce the number of hits:

All the earlier movies in the series are marked with a minus, meaning that pages that include these phrases should not be included in the "hit list". This means, however, that the search engine will subtract all the pages that include these phrases, including pages that have information on all the movies -- A New Hope as well as The Phantom Menace.

The information you are looking for may obviously be on one of those pages. Hence you should use the minus sign (or the AND NOT term for that matter) with great care.

Please note that there must not be any space between the relevant sign and the word! Write +"Star Wars", not + " Star Wars ".

Avoid using a "-" term as the first one in your query. Write dog -cat, not -cat dog

* In some search services, like Yahoo,Google and Pandia Plus, the default is AND. In this case you will have to use OR operator or the relevant option on a pull down menu.

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